Slow Joe Doyle

Judd Bruce "Slow Joe" Doyle (September 15, 1881 in Clay Center, Kansas – November 21, 1947 in Tannersville, New York) was a right-handed baseball pitcher who played from 1906 to 1910 for the New York Highlanders and Cincinnati Reds. He threw a sinker, a "raise ball" and a spitter.

Doyle at South Side Park in 1909.

Doyle made his major league debut on August 25, 1906. His career got off to a good start as he threw shutouts in each of his first two starts. He was the first 20th century pitcher to accomplish that feat, and it had been accomplished only twice before he did it. Since he did it, it has been accomplished 11 times. Perhaps more impressive is those two starts were also his first two big league appearances. Only three American League pitchers have thrown shutouts in their first two big league appearances since Doyle did it. In his first season, he went 2-1 with a 2.38 ERA in nine games (six starts).

The following season Doyle went 11-11 with a 2.65 ERA in 29 games (23 starts). He completed 15 games, and his three home runs allowed were the fifth most in the league. His 4.37 strikeouts per nine innings ratio was the sixth best in the league.

In 1908, Doyle was the Highlanders' opening day starter. However, for the rest of the season he appeared in only 11 more games, starting only four. He went 1-1 with a 2.63 ERA. He appeared in 17 games in 1909, making 15 starts. He went 8-6 with a 2.58 ERA, throwing three shutouts.

Doyle began the 1910 season with the Highlanders, appearing in three games, making two starts and going 0-2 with an 8.03 ERA. On May 31, he was purchased by the Reds for $2,000. He made five relief appearances for the Reds, posting an 0-0 record with a 6.35 ERA. Overall that season, he went 0-2 with a 7.03 ERA in eight games (two starts). He played his final big league game on June 25, 1910.

Despite starting out as a promising young pitcher, Doyle won only 22 games in his five-year career. He lost 21 games, and he posted an ERA of 2.85. In 75 appearances (50 starts), he walked 147 batters and struck out 209. As a batter, he hit .163 in 135 career at-bats. Statistically, he is most similar to pitcher Alex Main, according to the Similarity Scores at Baseball-Reference.com.

After his death, Doyle was buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Tannersville, New York.

Doyle got his nickname Slow Joe because he was a very slow working pitcher - he would take a lot of time between pitches, often stalling for notable amounts of time.